Welcome back to Forum Buzz, where I peruse the DobberHockey Forums and weigh in on active, heavily debated, or otherwise relevant recent threads, reminding folks just how great a resource the Forums are. Nearly anything might be covered here, other than trades and signings, which usually get their own separate write-ups on the main site and are also normally covered in the next day’s Ramblings, or questions that are specific to salary cap issues, which is the domain of the weekly Capped column. To access the specific forum thread on which a question is based, click on the “Topic” for that question.

As is now becoming tradition, I'll start the column with a nod to the "Who am I?" thread in the Forums where someone thinks of a real life hockey player or persona, who can be from the past or present, male or female, in the NHL or not, and they give clues to help people guess who it is. You get to enter one guess per clue, and if you guess correctly you think of the next player, so it just keeps going indefinitely. For your enjoyment, here is a "Who am I?" sample. See how many clues it takes for you to guess who I am.

CLUE #1 – I'm a currently active Canadian defenseman

CLUE #2 – Despite being from Canada, I opted to play US college hockey

CLUE #3 – I have played for the same team during my entire NHL career

CLUE #4 – I have won a Stanley Cup

CLUE #5 – I have never averaged a point per every other game in any NHL season

CLUE #6 – I was a draft bargain, having been grabbed in the third round

CLUE #7 – Although not a scorer, my production has been quite consistent, as I've had between 26 and 35 points in every full season of my NHL career

CLUE #8 – As a rookie, I was a member of the all-rookie team

CLUE #9 – I am one of the biggest players, in height and weight, in the entire NHL

CLUE #10 – I was part of the gold medal winning Canadian team at the Four Nations Faceoff

CLUE #11 – My NHL team is the Blues

CLUE #12 – My initials are C.P.

So, who am I? Hopefully you figured it out. Check the end of the column to confirm, or, if not, to find out who I am. Now onto regularly scheduled Forum Buzz programming. 

Topic #1 – In a 12 team league with categories of G, A, PPPts, FOW, SOG, HIT, BLK, W, GAA, SV, SV%, each team can keep 6F, 4D, 1G. A GM has nearly all his keepers nailed down as follows:

F: Kirill Kaprizov, Tim Stutzle, Wyatt Johnston, Clayton Keller, Matvei Michkov

D: Shea Theodore, Lane Hutson, Vince Dunn, Jackson LaCombe

G: Jake Oettinger

They are unsure though about the last F keeper and are torn between Artemi Panarin and Travis Konecny. Which should be kept, or should be both be instead of one of the other players?

First, let's see if any of the five who've been identified should not be kept instead. There will be a total of 72 F keepers among all teams, meaning it's less important to retain guys who are likely to be great, but not until down the road.

I get that Michkov has been anointed a star in the making, and I'm not necessarily disagreeing with that assessment. The issue though is he might not pop off for a few more seasons. As for Johnston, he is playing great, but is "stuck" on Dallas, where he might not get the ice time he needs to really thrive, even if on the top line at ES and on the PP. On the other hand, the Stars are so stacked that Johnston has a much higher floor than that of Michkov, at least for the time being. The other thing to remember is not keeping a player doesn't mean one can never own the player again, merely that they're allowing that player to be exposed to the draft, where they can be grabbed by another team.

As for Konecny and Panarin, I think we've passed the point where Konecny is likely to be more than a point per-game-player, if even that. He started with 50 points in 44 games, but now sits below the point per game mark, a mark that he's only once surpassed, and barely. His ice time is way up, but his SOG rate way down. His other issue is he's never thrived on the PP, which is so key to success as a forward. In fact, going back to the start of last season he's received the 64th most PPTOI among all forwards, yet his cumulative PPPt total puts him tied for 99th. It would be one thing if there was hope of it improving; however, other than one season he's been at or below a PPPt per every four games. Among the 280 instances of a winger playing 75+ games and scoring at a point per game or better rate, just ten managed to do so despite not averaging a PPPt per every four games. Add to that, Konecny is 28 years old and a veteran of over 600 NHL games, so I don't see him having another gear.

Panarin is having a very down year; however, in his defense his IPPs, both overall and on the PP, are above 81%, which is fantastic. The issue is pretty clear – he's been saddled with playing alongside Alexis Lafreniere and Vincent Trocheck, who have been terrible. Yes, Panarin is several years older than Konecny; however, he's only 33 and plays a type of game that should age quite well. The other key thing is he's a UFA after next season, so he can kiss goodbye to New York if that's what he wants, and my guess is it will be, and he ought to have no shortage of suitors who'll put him in a better spot to thrive. Let's not forget this is a player with four 105+ scoring pace seasons in the last five. You do not let that get away from you. Yes, he's not great in multicat, but multicat stats can be found elsewhere, while 100+ point pace scorers are unicorns. Clearly Panarin would be the keep over Konecny, making it so the only decision is whether Konecny should be kept over Michkov.

Another factor with Konecny is his track record of missing games, which should only get worse as he ages. Still, although I did say Wyatt's floor is higher, Konecny's is not much lower. When you get 20+ minutes per game, plus are on PP1, then even if you're not a PPPt magnet it should put you in position to score 75-80 points per season, which is nothing to sneeze at. Still, although nothing is etched in stone, I'd say that the chances Michkov overtakes Konecny in production rate is less of an if than a when. The other complicating issue is the rest of this team's keepers are built for now, but also for the future. Still, given that Panarin is being kept, I'd try to look more to the here and now and keep Konecny. Michkov will be costly to redraft, but that will be an option.

Topic #2 – In a 20 team, keep 25 (plus 2 rookies) league with goalie categories of Starts, GAA, SV%, SVS, W, a team has Jordan Binnington, Lukas Dostal, Ville Husso, Justus Annunen, Jakub Dobes and Connor Ingram. The GM wants to keep three, or at most four. Which should be kept, with the caveat that Dobes would not be a rookie keeper given its skater options.

Clearly Binnington is a keeper. He's the only proven starter among the bunch. Dostal also feels like he's a lock, as although John Gibson is still in the picture Dostal seems like the goalie of the future in Anaheim, and the future might be as soon as next season.

As for the rest, Husso to me seems to be an easy drop. I realize it's tempting to look to his last season in St. Louis; however, not only was that his only season with a GAA under 3.00 and a SV% above 90%, but it came when he was on the cusp of being a UFA, so the timing is definitely suspect. During this season and last he's appeared in a total of 29 games, with nine Really Bad Starts. I get that he's not played for strong teams; however, he's not performed well at all. Beyond that, he's 30 years old; and although it is true that goalies can do well far into their 30s, Husso seemingly has not figured things out and I have a hard time seeing him becoming even a 1B goalie in the NHL again.

Ingram has lost a lot of his lure given that Utah inked Karel Vejmelka to a three-year deal that will pay him $4.75M per season, or more than double Ingram's salary. Ingram can be a UFA after the 2025-26 season, but if you look at his resume it's not much better than Husso's. Yes, much was made of Ingram playing 50 games in 2023-24 and faring pretty well; however, much of that was front loaded, as in the second half he had 10 quality starts out of 24 starts, and his GAA went way up and his SV% way down. Essentially, he caught fire for half a season, before teams apparently figured him out, and he's not rebounded in 2025-26. He's not guaranteed to catch on elsewhere after his deal expires either, although barring a major change in plans he will be the back-up for Utah next season, so that is something.

Dobes has done well in his first NHL season. Granted, he hasn't been leaned upon much, but seemingly he's earned the full time back up gig for the Habs, and will be due for a nice raise as an RFA. With Sam Montembeault not making huge money, there is a universe in which Dobes could steal the starting gig.

To me, this seems like not that much of a difficult decision. I'm losing Husso and Ingram. Yes, it is scary to let go of guys who have, in the not-too-distant past, played 40+ games in a season. But since then they've not done well, and I see them as longshots to stick in the NHL much longer, let alone be impactful enough to a fantasy team.

Topic #3 – In a 12 team, keep 9 plus 7 prospects league with Defensemen scoring of 4.25 per goal, 3 per assist and Forward scoring of 3.5 per goal, 2.5 per assist, and 0.5 per HIT and 0.5 per BLK regardless of position, plus Goalie scoring of -1.5 per GA, 0.3 per save, 2 per win and an extra 2 per shutout, a team has the following roster:

F – Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Joel Eriksson Ek, Pierre-Luc Dubois, William Eklund, Logan Stankoven, Shane Wright, Will Smith, Trevor Zegras, Jaden Schwartz
D – Jackson LaCombe, Rasmus Sandin, Ryan Pulock, Martin Fehervary, Timothy Liljegren
G: Kevin Lankinen, Ilya Samsonov, Connor Ingram
Prospects – IvanDemidov, Matthew Coronato, Denton Mateychuk, Marco Kasper, Artyum Levshunov, Cole Hutson, Dalibor Dvorsky

They've narrowed down their nine keepers to Suzuki, Caufield, JEE, PLD, Eklund, Stankoven, Smith and Lacombe. For the ninth, they're wrestling between Zegras and Wright. Who's the better keep?

This is tough, because I feel like LaCombe might be a sell high, whereas Zegras strikes me as a buy low. Some might say that makes Zegras an easy non-keep, since the price to get him back on one's roster would not be high. I cannot argue with that, but that does not necessarily mean he's not a keep.

I wonder if the play is to try and flip Lacombe as a sell high. Don't get me wrong – LaCombe has looked great, but he's cooled of late, and seen his grip on a PP1 spot has loosened quite a bit. There's also the fact that even after trading Jamie Drysdale, Anaheim has Olen Zellweger and Pavel Mintyukov, both of whom were – and, I'd argue still are – seen as having very bright futures. Keep in mind too that LaCombe is three years older than either of those two; so to see him outperforming both is to be expected. But when the dust settles, I believe LaCombe will be put into a role better suited to "real life" hockey than fantasy. For now though, his performance for this season has raised his profile and made him an attractive sell high from where I sit.

I'd also look to trading JEE with Lacombe to make it a two for one. JEE is a bit old for this team, plus I think that Marco Rossi has taken enough strides, and the Wild finally have enough money to spend, that JEE might be relegated to a bottom-six role by next season. Still, with his stat stuffing and production in recent seasons still fresh on minds, he ought to fetch a decent return.

I'd look to trade LaCombe and JEE, keeping the player obtained in return, likely a defenseman or goalie. Then Zegras and Wright both can be kept, rather than having to choose one. I do realize that Zegras could be an easy redraft; however, the list of centers since 2000-01 who, like Zegras, tallied 22+ goals and 61+ points at least twice by age 21, while also averaging at least 2.2 SOG per game each such season consists of Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, Steven Stamkos, Anze Kopitar, Evgeni Malkin, Patrice Bergeron, John Tavares, and Sean Monahan. That is an impressive list to say the least. Although past results don't predict future outcomes, it makes me leery of letting go of Zegras.

As for Wright, he looked to be on his way to disappoint, even being a healthy scratch in some games in the early part of this season. But he persevered and has now showed signs of hope, especially considering that he's not even taking the ice for 14 minutes a game and under 2 minutes on the PP. On a per minute basis, his scoring is above the likes of Matt Boldy, Kopitar, Rossi, Nico Hischier, and Mikael Granlund, while on the PP he's above Tage Thompson, Travis Konecny, Seth Jarvis, Granlund again, plus Eklund. He seems like a solid keep, as he should continue to round into form.

In sum, I'd look to move LaCombe and JEE as a package to try and turn them into one player, likely a d-man or goalie given the other keepers. I'd then keep that player, plus Zegras and Wright, plus the others who were the list.

Topic #4 –In a 32 team Cap Dynasty League with skater categories of G, A, SOG, Hits, Blks, FOW, PPG, PPA, SHG, SHA, Tk, TOISH, and goalie categories of GS, G, A, ShL, GA, SV, SHO, W, a GM for a team that just finished last, but has Mathan MacKinnon, Kirill Kaprizov, and Zach Werenski as cornerstones around which to build, is looking at Gabe Vilardi, Dmitri Voronkov, and Pavel Dorofeyev to decide is any is sell candidate, or if all have solid upside. How should they be ranked, and what should be done with each?

Let's start with Vilardi, who's nearly on pace to see his scoring rate rise by double digits for the third straight season, yet still barely taking the ice for 18:00 per game and averaging below 2 SOG. How can he be producing so well? A high SH%, plus great PP production, where he takes the ice for more than two-thirds of Winnipeg's PP minutes. The good news is that only amounts to 2:48 per game, meaning if Winnipeg can find a way to take more penalties, he should reap the benefits, plus there is little to no way that PPTOI could go down from what it is now, unless Vilardi sees less PP deployment, which is highly unlikely given that he sits 19th in PPPts among forwards despite being outside the top 50 in forward PPTOI. Yes, his lack of a high SOG total likely puts a cap on his scoring upside, but at the same time it makes his elevated SH% less glaring. His IPPs are not amazing; however, his team 5×5 SH% is on pace to be above 11.0% for the second straight season, which means offense happens when he is on the ice, and that includes at ES. All this adds up to a player I'm not wanting to sell – not a chance.

Voronkov's production seems quite nice, except when pausing to consider he was a point per game player in Q2, meaning otherwise he's been barely a point per every other game guy. On the plus side, despite being on PP1 he has only 11 PPPts, signifying he should be capable of a lot more. But it also might mean he'll be pushed off the top unit, since Columbus has no shortage of capable forwards to take that spot. It's a legitimate concern. Still, the Blue Jackets are so stacked that any forward who's able to maintain a spot in the top six and even on PP2 should do well. But it also makes it less likely he explodes, as there are only so many points to go around. I think he's not a guy I love, but he's also not going to net a huge return, making him a poor sell high candidate. I'd say hold and hope, or hold until he gets red hot again and then sell.

Dorofeyev has impressed me. He's at 3.0 SOG per game even though he takes the ice for less than 17 minutes per contest. He too has found a way onto PP1; yet like Voronkov he's not exactly thrived, although things have been better of late, with half his 18 PPPts having come in his last 25 games, versus just eight in his first 43. What I also like is 12 of those PPPts have been PPGs, placing him the top ten among all forwards in that category. You don't take a guy with double digit PPGs off PP1 – not a chance.

It’s not all great news though, as Dorofeyev's secondary assist rate is nearly 60% and his IPPs are on the low side, as is his 5×5 team SH%. But he's still not reached his breakout threshold. All this has been done playing almost entirely apart from Jack Eichel. To me, the ingredients are there for him to still improve, as that kind of SOG total and that many PPGs are huge positives.

In sum, I'm holding Vilardi, who I'd rank first, and Dorofeyev, who I'd rank second but who I'd also say has a higher ceiling than Vilardi, despite a lower floor. Voronkov is third, and a hold for now, until he ignites again, at which point selling high might be a consideration.

Topic #5 – In a 12 Team Keep 10 (& 5 Minors) league with scoring of G/A/OTL:1; W:2; SO:3 a team that will finish in the top three is planning to keep Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, Mikko Rantanen, Brayden Point, Sebastian Aho, John Tavares, Evan Bouchard, Rasmus Dahlin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Logan Thompson. The way the league works are players can be kept for up to five years, and they want to know if the following ranking is accurate for those who cannot be kept next season due to being at the five year limit: Quinn Hughes, Adam Fox, Aleksander Barkov, Nick Suzuki, Sam Reinhart, Mark Scheifele, Roope Hintz, Mark Stone, Andrei Svechnikov, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane. Forward positions do not matter.

First off, although not asked, I could see Seth Jones being a keeper option. Depending on where he signs and where Tavares signs, Jones might be a keep over Tavares.

As for the list, if Stone is that low, then Barkov should not be that high. I covered Barkov in my Goldipucks column last week and, in short, I'm definitely not liking what I'm seeing. I'd put him much lower, although I don't think it will matter since given his name value he'd be long gone in a draft before when he "should" be picked. Just don't make the mistake of picking him in accordance with his ranking here. For sure I also have Crosby over Svechnikov, who more and more looks like nothing better than a 70-point player, if even that. Crosby likely will continue to produce well above that until he retires. In fact, given what I've seen from him this season, I 'd put Ovi above Svech too.

Stone should be as high as top-five or perhaps even top-three, provided there is room to stash him on IR when – notice I didn't say if – he gets hurt. But when he's healthy he's productive, making him a bitter pill but a pill that nevertheless should be swallowed.

The rest of the rankings seem mostly reasonable, although probably Crosby also leapfrogs Hintz. I like that Hintz is looking like he's rounding back into form; however, his ice time is on pace to drop for the second straight season, as is his share of PP minutes. Crosby, though much older, seems to still have a floor which is higher than Hintz's realistic ceiling.

Reinhart needs to be put above Suzuki, at least for now. It's great that Suzuki is on pace to see his scoring rise yet again, as it has done every season of his career; however, the team around him is less weak, meaning his TOI has cratered. It’s a good news, bad news situation in that they need him less and there are better players around him; but without 21+ minutes per game, he might struggle to do better than he is now. On the other hand, Reinhart has not seen his numbers drop by much since last season and looks to be a focal point for what should remain a very potent Florida offense, even if somehow Barkov's production wanes and/or Sam Bennett leaves as a UFA.

If I were to redo the rankings, here's what it would be instead. Hughes and Fox unchanged, Reinhart third, then Suzuki, followed by Stone. Then comes Scheifele, who does not seem to be showing his age and the Jets should continue to fare well even if Nikolaj Ehlers leaves, and then Barkov, Crosby, Hintz, Ovi, Svech and Kane.

Topic #6 – Are there any Flyer skaters to target as buy lows for 2025-26, whether because they should rebound or break out? Or is the Torts effect too stifling?

Looking at the Flyers, other than Travis Konecny, no one gets even 17:00 of TOI per game, which is just mind-boggling. It goes deeper than that, as if we look at teams where John Tortorella was the coach for all 82 games, that's a total of 13 seasons for four different teams dating back over 20 years. In those 13 seasons, he admittedly had a host of offensive successes in his first gig with Tampa Bay, but since then it's been a different story, as only two players – Marian Gaborik and Artemi Panarin – having point per game seasons, and for Panarin those were his worst two seasons in his last seven, plus this is a coach who caused the Sedin twins to have a terrible season right in their primes. In short, if players have succeeded offensively under Torts, it's not unfair to say it's been despite him being the coach, rather than due to him.

Is there hope for anyone on Philly to do well under him? Never say never in fantasy hockey, but it seems very unlikely. I really had thought that Jamie Drysdale would thrive if he were able to stay healthy. Although he has yet again missed a chunk of games, he's been mostly healthy yet not done well at all. Still, he ought to continue to get chances, due to Cam York not having stepped up either plus the big price Philly paid to get him.

At forward, Owen Tippett is shooting less and less, and his IPPs are not strong. I believe there is still a chance for him to be a 30-goal scorer on a yearly basis, but not if he's stifled like he has been, and he also is unproven enough that steps back like this could hinder if not prevent him from being able to fully realize his potential.

Matvei Michkov may be an elite talent, but he is still raw and this is not an environment where he is likely to flourish. On the plus side, he's on PP1 and there are no threats to his "spot." I also think Jakob Pelletier could surprise, as he's managed a few points for the Flyers despite barely any ice time and not favorable deployment. But he was a former first rounder and undersized, meaning he might just need more games and TOI. I would not write him off yet completely. Same with Bobby Brink, who is playing under nearly the same conditions and TOI as last season but doing a bit better. He hits his breakout threshold next season, so improvement might be in the cards. Then there's Sean Couturier, who simply has not been the same player since his injury a couple of seasons ago. And at age 32, I don't see a return to form in the cards.

Long story short though, if Torts remains coach and the team does not load up on offensive talent, it might be a stretch for any forward other than Konecny to tally 60 points or any d-man to get 35. Yes, it's that bad. But the key word in that sentence is "if" since looking at Frozen Tools for the Flyers Depth Chart, it's like a blizzard with all the blue cold icons. That does not paint the picture of a well-coached team, meaning Torts might not be at the helm come the 2025-26 season.

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THE ANSWER TO WHO THE PLAYER IS……….Colton Parayko!

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Questions for Mailbag column needed

The upcoming edition of my monthly mailbag still has room for more questions, which you can send me by either private messaging “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums, or emailing admin@dobbersports.com with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.